ab potentiā arcūs sagittarumque
by FreniSusi
Summary: The tale of Cassia Tertia, an ambitious young adventurer. Accused of the murder of a prominent noble in the Imperial City, her life takes a turn toward a gruesome and vicious journey through the Deadlands. First fanfic so be gentle please.
1. iter puellae quaedam iuvenis

ab potentiā arcūs sagittarumque

**A/N: PLEASE READ MY OTHER STORY (not really a story) 'Lore of ab potentiā' FIRST SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE STORY BETTER. THANKS **

**So this is new…a new story for a very old game. This should (hopefully) evolve into a whole story, and (hopefully) people will enjoy it. If you do enjoy it or have any suggestions please let me know through the appropriate communication networks. Writing this I realize I sound like a robot of some kind :P. Also rate this story and follow and all that good stuff.**

**This chapter should hopefully create a backdrop for the main character, Cassia, and her circumstances. If some of it is hard to follow please message me and I will explain it as best I can.**

**One final thing, I plan to write all the titles in Latin, you know to give the story a unique quality. I will say what the titles mean in these author's notes (for example today's title 'iter puellae quaedam iuvenis' is 'A young girl's journey'). If you want an explanation of the grammar and whatnot you can message me. I doubt you will be it's nice to offer ;)**

**Anyway, let's get started. spero ut id gaudeās! **

_Crown Prince Geldall's Quarter's, White Gold Tower, Imperial City _

_8.09 am, 10__th__ Last Seed 433_

_Alexander knocked on Geldall's door. After a few seconds he called him in._

'_salve, Alexander, good to see you.'_

'_You wanted to see me, sire?'_

'_Yes…my father, in his delusional old age, as ordered me and my brothers to 'secure' locations across the empire. Ebel has gone to Markarth, Enman to Sentinal and I have been ordered to Mournhold.'_

'_All the way to Vvardenfell? Why?'_

'_Father is convinced that we are all to be killed, so, following the advice of the Blades, he has sent us to each of the provincial capitals to confuse the assassins. Trust me, I'm just as unconvinced as you.'_

'_Well sire, I would be happy to accompany you to Vvardenfell, I've been there several times as a soldier and I know my way around; I even dined with the Nerevarine._

'_Yes, yes very good. We leave in 17 days, on the 27__th__, so prepare a few guards and some horses. You're dismissed. vale.'_

'_vale domine,' he responded, and then shuffled out of the room._

_Alexander headed for the Feed Bag shop for breakfast. Despite being the commander of the palace guards he was on a low income. He was sending most of his wealth to his wife in Black Marsh, who was forbidden to leave the service of the one of the local chiefs until she paid off her huge debt, created when she slaughtered his hatchling as an act of vengeance for his burning of her village, which killed her whole family. However she had nearly paid off her debt and soon she would be able to come and live with her husband. Alexander rarely thought about her now, for it was too painful. He instead considered it a tax he sent, he even stopped writing letters to her, just sending a stipend and perhaps a flower. _

'_What would you like today, Xander?'_

'_Bread and a tomato will be sufficient thank you.'_

'_Nothing to drink?'_

'_No thank you, Delos.'_

'_sicut vis imperator.'_

_Alexander coughed into his stale roll and then ate it in one. He chuckled bitterly, imagining the life he should be having with his beloved wife, instead of the life he was having, serving a haughty crown prince, eating gruel he wouldn't feed to a dog and sending 80% of his wealth to some Argonian warlord. 'The gods really have blessed the Ellanites, haven't they?' he thought to himself._

**Lord Tertius' Estate, Colovia**

'Cassia, darling, come down for breakfast!'

Cassia pulled her head out of her wardrobe to respond to her mother.

'I'll be down in a second!'

'I really hope that girl knows what she's doing. I don't think I could handle losing a child…'

'Mother! That's a terrible thing to say.'

'I agree, Iulia sweetheart, you need to calm down. Cassia is a woman now, beautiful, strong, intelligent. She will be fine.'

'But Lucius, you here so many stories of babies dying before birth and dying in their first few years, and we've raised four beautiful daughters, none of whom have died or even been ill to any great degree. Surely our luck would run out here.'

'Or maybe we're so blessed with luck that their lives are so secure that the gods watch over them and care for them like babies. Even if that's not true, can you really name a creature that could take on Cassia?'

'I could name several!'

'Mom stop worrying! Cassia will be fine. You were worried when Flavia left home to become a merchant, thought she'd be murdered by loan sharks and whatnot, and now she's one of the richest merchants in the Empire. You were worried when Laelia went to the Imperial City to find the man of her dreams, and within eight months we were standing at her wedding. And now you're worried about Cassia becoming an adventurer, if the past holds up to scrutiny she should save the world!'

'Aurelia, when you have children you will understand my anxiety.'

'I would appreciate it if you talked about me while I am in the room.'

Iulia looked up to see her daughter in the doorway with a smirk on her face, wearing travelling clothes and holding a bow and quiver in her hands. Her hair was long and silky, kept together by a headband around her temple. Her face was bright and jubilant, her big green eyes screamed excitement and her tanned Imperial skin glowed with a desire to explore.

'Hey sis, they got Mitsuko to make your favourite breakfast.'

'Really? You didn't have to do that.'

'Hey Mitsuko was the one who cooked it. Where is she anyway?'

Mitsuko was their Nihan housekeeper. The Nihan are one of the human races enslaved by the Tsaeci in Akavir.

'I think she's chopping wood for the fire. Sit down sweetheart, you're eggs are getting cold.'

Cassia sat down at the table to her breakfast; poached eggs on brown bread with a blackberry sauce. She ate them quickly, she was starving and also she hadn't had eggs in months. While eating she noticed her whole family were looking at her; her mother Iulia, her father Lucius and her eleven year old sister Aurelia.

'Why are looking at me like that?' Lucius was the first to speak.

'I suppose we can't believe it, that you're leaving I mean.'

'My little Cassia has grown up into an ambitious adventurer.'

'My big sister is going to be an adventurer!'

'Yes she is. I think 19 years as a noble's daughter is more than enough time spent being a noble's daughter. It's time for me see Cyrodiil for its true self, find fortune and all that good stuff.'

'Well what are you're travelling plans?'

'First I want to go to the Imperial City and surprise Laelia. I'll stay with her for a few days so I can get my bearings about the city, you know, find out about which dungeons are good for loot, who wants to buy said loot and so on. Then I'll go dungeon crawling and see how it goes from there.'

'That sounds very methodical for you, Cassia,' said Aurelia.

'People can change Aure,' she beamed back at her sister.

'Okay, so by Mitsuko's suggestion we've all got you a little farewell gift, apparently it's an Akaviri tradition among its humans, I think actually she wants to give her gift first. So after we've all finished breakfast, we'll go into to the drawing room and give them to you.'

'You guys didn't have to do all of this! I'm not dying or anything.'

'We insist, you might find them useful.'

Cassia walked into the living room and reclined on the sofa, with her family close behind. Mitsuko came in from the garden and smiled warmly at them.

'Ah good, you haven't left yet. I've got something for you, from my homeland.' She came closer to Cassia, reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wooden block tied through a string. The block had three Nihanese pictograms carved on it.

'This is an Ommora, a special pendant the Nihan give to people upon reaching adulthood or upon them setting on a daring journey. This one is very old, over 100 years old in fact. My father gifted me this before I escaped from the Tsaeci. I cannot have children of my own, they sterilize every other child, so I wish to pass this on to you Cassia.'

'Oh wow, it's so beautiful, but Mitsuko, I cannot accept this, it's part of your heritage, your link with Akavir and…'

'No, I insist, please, take and wear it with honour. My heart bleeds for my people at home, but nothing would make me or them happier than to see a brave and honourable person bear this talisman. I wish you well in all your travels Cassia, it has been so wonderful to see you grow up into such a woman. Oh look, I'm rambling now,' she said smiling, but teary eyed.

'I'm really gonna miss you Mitsuko, you've been…so…great now I'm crying!' she responded. They both held each other close and wept for a while. Eventually Aurelia, being somewhat disdainful of uncontrolled emotional outpouring, interjected.

'Can you equally distribute the sadness between everyone in the family? This is just unfair…'

'Sorry Aure, come here,' Cassia snivelled.

'Right, so you know my drawing has been getting really good, right? Well, what does every adventurer need? A map!' Aurelia pulled out a huge map of Cyrodiil, made with thick papyrus paper. It was gloriously detailed with the individual roads and paths inscribed on it, and the cities were very accurately depicted

'It's got all the cities and their districts drawn on. I did my best to show hills and valleys on the map as well. I mean I've never left the estate so I have no idea what any of these places look like but you know I've given it my best shot. Also I got Dad to enchant the paper, so it is waterproof, so you can use it in Bruma or Leyawiin without it getting ruined.

'Wow, Aure…this is lovely, and so useful. I had a pocket map which had the major cities on, but this is going to be so much more useful.'

'Well it was nothing…plus you would be fucked without this map.'

'Aurelia!' their mother scolded. 'Adults shouldn't use that language, let alone children.'

'Oh lighten up mom, your daughter, my sister, is leaving us for greener pastures of ogre slaughter and I can't engage in a little Breton? Oh and Cass, I almost forgot, I've got something else for you.' She reached into her pocket and pulled out an A4 sized piece of papyrus. On it was Aurelia and Cassia hugging close with a line of dialogue at the bottom reading 'amor amicarum, sicut in monarchiā rex, nunca moritor'

'Now my Empirical isn't very good, it took me hours to write it, so I don't care if it's not grammatically correct, you can appreciate the sentiment behind it, right?'

'Yes sweetheart I can, god I love you and I'm going to miss you and your dry humour and refusal to even be remotely sad.' Aurelia smiled and hugged her sister tightly. She tried holding in the tears, but Cassia heard her anyway.

'Are you crying?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?' Aurelia pulled away to show her blank face.

'See, I'm not…crying,' she faltered.

'It's okay to cry you know.'

'I'm not crying…I'm just allergic to…you know the papyrus paper…' she welled up and started crying, and Cassia hugged her tightly.

'No, stop, if I keep hugging you I won't let you leave…Mum, Dad, come give your gifts!' Aurelia called.

Her mother and father's gifts were much less notable, 100 gold and a copy of 'The Warp in the West', also they're goodbyes were much less notable. Cassia and her parents had already shared a very heartfelt farewell when she told them she wanted to adventure, so this wasn't as emotional as one would have thought.

So, after another hug with all the family, Cassia picked up her belongings and headed for Kvatch. There would be a carriage available to take to the Imperial City, where her adventure would truly begin. What Cassia didn't count on was a divine plan taking her idea of an adventure and tossing it aside, replacing it with a different, much more gruesome reality.


	2. matrimonium felix

ab potentiā arcūs sagittarumque

**A/N: Chapter 2, 'matrimonium felix' (a happy marriage), where Cassia stays with her married sister Laelia in an upper class house in the Talos Plaza District. We also introduce a new character, who meets Cassia later on in the story. I think that's all…so let's get into it!**

_North Hammerfell/Cyrodiil border, Jerall Mountains, Hammerfell_

_10.12 am, 12__th__ Last Seed 433_

'_Alright, this is as far as I can take you two. Just through this mountain pass will lead to the Jeralls proper. You'll reach Bruma by sundown most likely, then you can get a carriage to the Imperial City.'_

'_Thank you Ahmad. How much do we owe you?'_

'_Well I covered you all the way from Skaven, across the al-Ik'r desert to Elinhir…so call it an even 1,000.'_

'_That seems reasonable, here you go.'_

'_Thank you Ms. gra-Rugob. I wish the pair of you the best of luck to both of you.' And with that, the Bedo Redguard mounted his horse and cantered back down the mountain path toward his home in the heart of Hammerfell._

'_Well he was nice, wasn't he?' said the Orc's companion._

'_I suppose. Alright come on Alyssa, it's freezing.'_

_The two mages headed down the old mountain trail, passing mines and caves and the occasional frost troll. They were travelling from High Rock; the Orc, Uloth gra-Rugob had been asked to lecture at the Arcane University and her apprentice, Alyssa Bertrand, was eager to join the Mages Guild. gra-Rugob had been studying magic for 110 years and had never had an opportunity like this, and neither had Alyssa. Orcs were rarely taken seriously in the Imperial Province, let alone females, let alone again mages. Orcs were much maligned in the world of mages; they were seen as children trying to play grown-up. gra-Rugob had been blocked by the Arcane University for most of her life of practicing magic as the Arch-Mage Tauryon, an Altmer, had been discriminatory toward the non-Meric races. Only by virtue of there being many more men than mer in Cyrodiil did he have to concede to regularly accepting Manlike lecturers over exclusively Meric ones. However anyone of Orcish, Khajiiti or Argonian descent couldn't ascend more than the rank of Journeyman. Thankfully, upon the death of Tauryon and the accession of Hannibal Traven, the Mages Guild has swelled with talented mages from all races. gra-Rugob was penned a letter by Traven on the day of his accession, with formal apologies and an offer of 12,000 septims upfront and 1,200 septims per month. She gladly accepted, and after a month of preparation she and her apprentice marched from Orsinium through Hammerfell and into Cyrodiil._

_Once they formally entered Cyrodiil, they travelled for hours before reaching any landmark, but the one they saw was spectacular._

'_What is this?'_

'_The Imperium is dotted with forts all over…this is probably just another.'_

'_Uloth, no, this is Sancre Tor.'_

'_No it's not, it can't be.'_

'_It is. Look at this plaque, 'Sealed by authority of the Grandmaster of the Blades, 36__th__ year of the reign of Tiber Septim.'_

'_But that means we're off course by miles. Come look at the map.' She hoisted a map of the Imperial Province out of her bag._

'_Look, we should have been heading to Bruma, eastwards. Sancre Tor is south.'_

'_Oh…shit.'_

'_And now it's getting dark, wonderful. It's too cloudy to use the stars for navigation.'_

'_Uloth don't worry, just south of here is an Ayleid Ruin, Moranda. It won't take long to get there, we can stay the night inside and then head to the city of Chorrol, which isn't far either.'_

'_Aren't Ayleid Ruins haunted?'_

'_Oh come on you don't believe that rubbish do you? The Ayleids are dead, have been for nearly 4,000 years, their ruins are abandoned husks, empty and safe.'_

'_But you hear all those stories…'_

'_Of inexperienced travellers being dragged into a ruin and being killed? They weren't two well-trained mages.'_

'_Well okay…if you're sure.'_

'_I can't believe I'm reassuring you, my teacher. Come on it's not far.'_

_When they entered Moranda it was warm and bright, unlike most ruins. The lighting, still an eerie blue colour seen in other ruins, was much brighter than usual. After proceeding through the ruin they found a small side room, with a couple of bedrolls. The pair, exhausted, decided to use them for the night. They snuggled into the bedroll and fell asleep. When Alyssa woke up, she didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but she knew something was up, as she could see orange torch light coming from a side alcove. She was only in underwear and freezing, but she nonetheless climbed out of her bedroll and readied a frost spell. Jumping from the alcove into the hallway she saw the torch bearer, a wrinkled Breton man, wearing a black robe with an imposing skull sewed upon the front. He smiled devilishly at her and spoke;_

'_Well well, aren't you a beauty? A most beautiful young maiden. I think you'll make a fine worm thrall.' Alyssa prepared to fire a bolt of ice at the man, but as she loosened her grip on the bolt a green aura enveloped her. It was a lovely warm and calming feeling. However Alyssa found she couldn't move at all. She fell backward onto the cold floor, and felt herself being dragged back. A second aura, blue this time, surrounded her, and she felt her eyelids fall heavy. She passed out into a blissful sleep, unaware of what perils lay before her as a captive of necromancers._

**Uleni Manor, Talos Plaza District, Imperial City**

**9.30 am, 11****th**** Last Seed**

'You're breakfast master Azarik: cold roasted crab meat on a slice of wholemeal bread.'

'Thank you Dro-Zahr.'

'And for you lady Laelia, a 'fruit salad' as you specified yesterday.'

'Thanks Dro-Zahr.'

'If you'll excuse me, I'll return to cleaning out the basement.'

'Of course. You may go.'

The elderly Khajiit bowed and then hobbled toward the basement.

'They're quaint aren't they?'

'Who?' asked Laelia.

'The help. Specifically the beasts.'

'I…uh, I hadn't noticed anything in particular…'

'Come now surely you have noticed? You see these barbarous cats and lizards integrated into the civilized world of men and mer, and all their strength and bravery is replaced by a meek, pathetic husk.' Lord Azarik said.

'Well…I mean…it all depends on…' stammered Laelia, before being interrupted by the maid.

'Lady Laelia, a woman is at the door for you.'

'Really? Who?'

'She didn't say.'

'What did she look like?'

'Tall, tanned, green eyes.'

'You've basically just described me. I'll go see her.'

Laelia got up and walked to the entrance of Uleni Manor. Sitting down on one of the benches was her sister, covered in mud and beaming.

'Ysmir's beard!'

'You gone Nord sis?'

'Sorry, one of my friends is from Windhelm…it's so good to see you Cassia, but what are you doing here, and why are you covered in filth?'

'Well I've left home to adventure, travel the world, or at least Cyrodiil. So I needed a place to stay for a few days in the big city, therefore I thought instead of shelling out on a hotel room, I could come see my big sister!'

'Well that's great and all, but it doesn't explain why you're covered in mud…'

'Uh, well I fell off the cart taking me here from Kvatch, and the rain last night made the soil turn to mud.'

'Well come on, let's get you cleaned up. We've got a pool heated by Welkynd Stones in the basement, you can bathe in that, follow me.'

'Thanks Laelia, it really is good to see you too.' Cassia moved to hug her.

'Whoa, whoa, get cleaned up first.'

'Right sorry.'

Cassia followed her big sister into the dining room to see her brother-in-law reading the paper. Looking up, he smiled at Cassia, not a friendly smile, but a lustful one. Cassia scowled at him momentarily when her sister wasn't looking. Cassia and Lord Azarik had only met once, at his wedding. He had previously come onto Cassia during the wedding reception, who had naturally spurned his advances. It was evident that he hadn't given up.

'Cassia, you remember my husband Azarik?'

'How could I forget Lord Uleni? Your highness,' she said, shaking his hand.

'Always a pleasure Miss Cassia.'

'I'm just going to take Cassia to get washed downstairs, then we'll head to the market.' Azarik just nodded in consent.

'It's just down here, Cass,' Laelia said, opening the basement door.

The basement was sparsely decorated, unlike the rest of the house. It was however much larger than an average basement, having two floors; the top used for storage and the bottom solely used for the large bath. Standing at the side was Dro-Zahr, who was bent over sweeping the floor.

'Dro-Zahr, take a break, and get Anna to prepare a dress for Cassia. Any of mine will work.'

'Yes ma'am,' he bowed. He turned to Cassia and muttered a 'Madame Cassia,' before rushing out, still bent double.

'He's old, and Azarik treats him bad, but he loves his work, and he has nothing else. Anyway, here is a strigil and some olive oil, towels are there and a servant will come in for your clothes and to give you your dress. Put on a layer of oil first then get in the bath, wash it off then add another layer and remove it with the strigil.'

'Don't worry Laelia I have bathed before. I should be done in 20 minutes or so.'

'Great, I'll be upstairs.'

After Laelia left the room, Cassia took off her muddy travelling clothes and laid her bag down on the floor. She then removed her undergarments and jewellery. Just then when she stood totally naked, a young Bosmer servant girl entered.

'Oh my, I'm sorry Madame, I'll come back when you are in the bath.'

'What? Why?'

'Well, you're…naked.'

'Yes…'

'And a servant shouldn't look upon her mistress naked.'

'Why not?'

'Because…you're body…'

'Is a very beautiful thing and I want people to revel in it. Come here girl.' She walked over to Cassia. Cassia took her hand and put it upon her breast, and rubbed it slowly.

'See, isn't that nice?' The Bosmer was speechless.

'You're not very talkative are you?'

'No ma'am.'

'Alright, that'll do. I'm going to bathe now, just leave the dress there,' she pointed at a small table.

'Yes ma'am.'

While the Bosmer put down the dress and took her dirty clothes away (she signalled not to take the bag), Cassia doused herself in olive oil and clambered into the bath. She had only been in a bath once before, one of the city baths in the Imperial City also, at the estate she bathed in the nearby lake. This bath was much different from the city bath, it was hot but not too hot, so she didn't sweat to make it uncomfortable, and also the water never got filthy with the mud or dirt, the Welkynd Stones (which glowed from the bottom of the bath) seemed to purify the water. She spent about five minutes soaking, then climbed out of the bath and covered herself in oil again, then pulled off the dirt with the strigil. She then climbed back in the bath for another ten minutes, before finally climbing out and grabbing a large rag the maid left to dry herself. Her dress was blue velvet with matching shoes, very high quality but Cassia hated blue. She had nothing else to wear, so she put it on. Laelia was smaller than Cassia, so the dress hugged her skin tightly.

She opened the door and walked up the stairs, and by the time she had reached the room where they were having breakfast, she could hear yelling. It was coming from upstairs. She went upstairs to the door of the bedroom and pressed her ear against it.

'Why is she here?'

'She's my sister, what am I supposed to do?'

'Give her money for a hotel.'

'I can't do that to my sister.'

'Dammit Laelia, I don't want my house being turned into hostel!

'Your house, huh? We've been married for two years and it still isn't our house?'

'Who paid for it, who pays for upkeep, who hires the servants?'

'You, with inherited money! You think you have total authority over this house because of the hard work of a great-grandfather, when in fact you've done no work in your life!' Then there was a loud crack.

'How dare you speak to me like that! I ought to-'

'Okay I'm ready, let's go sis!' Cassia said, opening the door. Laelia was holding her face and looked on the brink of tears, but Cassia had the courtesy to look like she had heard nothing.

'Oh…okay…great Cass, I'll just get my coat,' she said and hurried past, hiding her face. Azarik turned to his sister-in-law.

'I hope you two have fun at the-'

'If you ever lay a finger on her again, I'll see you beaten and killed.'


End file.
